2016 World Championship Seat Updates

Hélène Bergeot started her career with Wizards of the Coast in France in December, 1995; afterwards, she spent a few years in the European headquarters based in Belgium and eventually relocated to the Renton office. She is currently the director of organized play and trade marketing.

The Magic: The Gathering World Championship is the most important part of our premier play schedule every year, with the tournament serving as a battleground for the very best of the premier play season facing off in an exclusive invitation-only experience. With each year, we continue to look for ways to improve upon this event to make the World Championship a fantastic player experience as well as an enjoyable spectacle as part of our e-sports lineup.

One of the aspects of the World Championship that we have been looking at is finding more titles that measure a player's success throughout a season. After thorough discussion, we have decided to replace the initial At-Large invitations—additional seats in the World Championship given to the top Pro Points earners in a season who haven't already qualified for the tournament—with new seats that will help showcase the best of the best competitors.

The new titles that qualify for the World Championship are the following:

Editor's Note: The Mid-Season Master title has been adjusted based on internal discussion and community feedback. Wording has been updated to clarify what events the Mid-Season Master title tracks.

Draft Master—The 2015-16 Draft Master title, and the World Championship slot that goes with it, is awarded to the player with the most match points in Booster Draft matches at all Pro Tours in the season (a maximum of 72 match points are possible in a season).

Constructed Master—The 2015-16 Constructed Master title, and the World Championship slot that goes with it, is awarded to the player with the most match points in Constructed matches during the Swiss rounds at all Pro Tours in a season (a maximum of 120 match points are possible in a season).

Mid-Season Master—The player with the most Pro Points earned through their best six Grand Prix finishes, Pro Tours, and the World Magic Cup after the second Pro Tour in the season will be awarded a seat in the World Championship. For the 2015-16 season, this means that the player who is leading in Pro Points earned through their best six Grand Prix finishes, Pro Tours, and the World Magic Cup after Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch will be invited to compete in the World Championship.

Outstanding Hall of Famer—This seat in the World Championship will be awarded to the player from the Pro Tour Hall of Fame who has the most Pro Points accumulated at the end of the season.

At-Large invitations will still be part of the World Championship, as any player who would qualify for the World Championship via more than one of the titles awarding a slot will create an At-Large seat.

With these new seats replacing the current At-Large invitations, the 24 seats in the 2016 World Championship will be awarded to the following:

(4) Winner of a Pro Tour in the 2015-16 Season

(1) 2015 World Champion

(4) Pro Point Leaders from North America

(3) Pro Point Leaders from Europe

(3) Pro Point Leaders from Asia-Pacific

(2) Pro Point Leaders from Latin America

(1) 2015-16 Player of the Year

(1) Grand Prix Pro Points Leader

(1) Magic Online Champion

(1) 2015-16 Mid-Season Master

(1) 2015-16 Outstanding Hall of Famer

(1) 2015-16 Draft Master

(1) 2015-16 Constructed Master

If a player were to earn multiple titles from the above list, each additional seat they claim instead becomes an At-Large seat and will go to the top Pro Points earner of the 2015-16 season who hasn't already been invited to the World Championship.

The 2016 Magic: The Gathering World Championship will be an incredible show as well as a great experience for the players, and we're excited to see who will qualify for this event throughout the 2015-16 season.